Milan magistrates have ordered police to search for a Moroccan nightclub dancer at the centre of a sex trial involving Silvio Berlusconi, now seeking a fifth term as prime minister in an election next year, after she failed to show up in court.

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has laughed off an inquiry into his bawdy sex life and relationship with an underage girl as magistrates struggled to get permission to search his offices for evidence against him.